Vehicles, such as automobiles, include body structures to absorb energy during a vehicle impact, for example, a vehicle-to-vehicle impact. During the vehicle impact, components of the vehicle may deform to absorb energy. For example, the vehicle may include exterior panels, e.g., doors, fenders, etc., a body structure supporting the exterior panels, and a floor disposed below a passenger compartment of the vehicle. In the case of a side impact to the vehicle, the exterior panels may deform and impact the body structure. If the impact is of sufficient magnitude, the body structure may be forced into the floor and may cause the floor to deform.
The design of components of the vehicle body structure is subject to several constraints, such as packaging constraints, manufacturing constraints, vehicle assembly constraints, cost constraints, etc. There remains an opportunity to design a vehicle body structure that effectively absorbs and transfers energy in a manner that accommodates these design considerations.